Powe's play starting to make noise / Numbers, minutes are increasing after slow preseason start

Shira Springer, Boston Globe

Published
4:00 am PDT, Monday, October 23, 2006

2006-10-23 04:00:00 PDT Uncasville, Conn. -- If you met Leon Powe before he scored 11 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench against New Jersey on Wednesday night, the Celtics' rookie would have been pegged as the shy, quiet type. He usually could be seen leaving the practice court with his head bowed, as if studying the parquet. Maybe he was merely searching for some confidence.

Powe wasn't one to linger after workouts and joke with new teammates. He seemed, at turns, down, overwhelmed, lost, uncertain of where he stood with the Celtics. To some extent, he was lost.

Coach Doc Rivers said the former Cal forward struggled with the Celtics' system, which would explain the rookie's seat at the end of the bench early in the exhibition season.

On Saturday, though, Powe scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 22 minutes of the Celtics' 113-89 exhibition win over the New York Knicks at Mohegan Sun.

"He showed us that he could run the stuff and think the stuff through" against New Jersey, Rivers said. "He practiced well in the summer and that told you he was just struggling with the system. Then, you wait and you wait. What I love about him is (he sends) a message to all the other bigs: There's a guy who's willing to get his nose dirty. You better do it, or he'll be getting your minutes."

With playing time and production, Powe has opened up, speaking excitedly about what he can do and what he needs to improve. He laughs at the suggestion he is shy and quiet. He simply needed something to talk about.

"If you all had come to me a game before (playing New Jersey), I wouldn't have said anything," Powe said. "I was just hoping and praying that I would get an opportunity. And I was thinking, What if I don't get an opportunity?' I didn't want to think of that.

"I never doubted myself, but you're sitting there so long you start thinking. Playing New Jersey, it just brought me back to reality, knowing what I can do and knowing all the work I did in the summer is going to pay off."

Uncertainty has given way to curiosity about what Powe can contribute in the future. Executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and his staff clearly saw talent that can translate to the NBA when they scouted the 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pounder at Cal and acquired his draft rights from the Nuggets, who selected him with the 49th overall pick. Michael Olowokandi, the 1998 No. 1 overall pick, looks like the odd man out when Boston makes another cut, though the 7-footer might have earned himself a job elsewhere with his preseason play. Given a choice for rounding out the roster, Ainge almost always will pick youth and potential over experience.

Powe could be asked to provide rebounding if the Celtics struggle in that area. Last season, he led the Pac-10 in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.1 per game).

"I was looking (at what teammates did) and saying, 'I can do that,' " Powe said. "But it isn't about what I can do. It's about what Doc and the team need. Right now, I think they just need to have somebody out there rebounding and fighting, somebody with toughness.

"I look at it as I've got a different role (than in college). I can score points. I can be a go-to guy. I know I can do that, but I know that ain't my role. I'm going out there and showing what Danny and Doc see in me, that means making the hustle plays and rebounding. I just try to keep up the energy out there. I think that's what Danny saw when he picked me up."